


A Shield Maiden's Curiousity

by suckedintoanotherfandom



Series: A Shield Maiden Moves to Kirkwall [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age II
Genre: First Meeting, Gen, Shield Maiden Hawke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-11
Updated: 2019-10-11
Packaged: 2020-12-07 21:13:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,462
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20982455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suckedintoanotherfandom/pseuds/suckedintoanotherfandom
Summary: Safaera stared into her mug barely regarding the liquid the Hanged Man calls ale and thought about the encounter with the Grey Warden that her group had earlier that afternoon. She had led them to Darktown with only a name and vague directions. She didn’t know what to expect when she saw him. After a tense moment, they agreed to meet at the Chantry later that night to check on and possibly free his friend from the Circle.





	A Shield Maiden's Curiousity

Safaera stared into her mug barely regarding the liquid the Hanged Man calls ale and thought about the encounter with the Grey Warden that her group had earlier that afternoon. She had led them to Darktown with only a name and vague directions. She didn’t know what to expect when she saw him. After a tense moment, they agreed to meet at the Chantry later that night to check on and possibly free his friend from the Circle.

At first glance, Safaera saw Anders as a man dedicated to helping those in need and is deeply concerned about his friend. The way he talked about the Grey Wardens made it seemed as if he had lost faith in them. Then there was his love, or rather the lack there-of, for the Templars. Safaera generally agreed that the Chantry claiming that mages should be under lock and key was wrong, but it was a complex subject with a solution she didn't yet know how to approach.. Maybe after the expedition, she could sit down with him, and they could discuss it more. She was interested in what he had to say, and he was very handsome.

“What do you think, Hawke?” Varric’s voice jarred her from her thoughts.

She looked up from her glass to Varric and Bethany. “Hmm? I didn’t catch that.”

“I said we should probably head out soon.” Bethany and Varric shared a quiet chuckle.

“Yeah, alright.” She finished off her glass with a grimace. Maker, the ale here tasted awful.

She stood up, grabbed her shield, and lead her group up to the Hightown markets where they met with Aveline.

Aside from the occasional bandit skirmish, there were no hints of templars to her relief and suspicion. Safaera shoved the feeling down and ascended up the steps to find Anders waiting for them behind a pillar.

“I saw Karl go inside a few minutes ago. No templars so far. Are you ready?”

Anders hadn’t met her eyes, unlike in the clinic. Apparently, he shared those same suspicions. Safaera took a deep breath, gave a confident smile in return and approached the Chantry doors.

“Let’s do this.”

Anders nodded resolutely as they crossed the wide threshold.

The Chantry was disturbingly quiet. The tall statues seemed more daunting and the overbearing silence was stifling. During the day it was filled with the Chant and hushed voices but now that comfortable silence was gone. Safaera shook her head and focused on the man in front of her.

It hadn’t taken long to find Karl, and at the sight of him, Anders moved a little faster to reunite with his friend. But the monotone voice that shattered the silence stopped the mage in his tracks. “Anders. I know you too well. I knew you would never give up.”

“What’s wrong?’ Disbelief cut into Anders’ voice. “Why are you talking like –”

As Karl turned around Safaera heard a quiet gasp from Bethany and Anders fell silent. She hadn’t seen Tranquil before coming to Kirkwall, but she never got used to the sight of them, not since arriving. It was the symbol of the ever-present fear that this could be done to her sister. It was a fate that she actively fought against.  
“I was too rebellious. Like you. The templars knew I had to be,” Karl seemed to pause for a moment, “made an example of.”

A distraught cry came from Anders and she thought she saw movement in the corner of her eye.

As the tranquil mage continued to repeat his doctrine, the templars had approached them and fanned out to cut their group off from escape. With ax and shield in hand, she was ready to break their line.

“This is the apostate.”

With that line alone, from the man that was once Anders’ friend, the air around the mage changed drastically and the room was bathed in a brilliant blue light.

“No!” Anger and an overwhelming aura of vengeance filled the air as Anders collapsed to the ground, seeming to struggle against an unseen force. The blinding light returned, stronger, as if he was covered in blue flames. As he stood, she caught a look at his now solid lyrium blue eyes and was thrown off by the booming voice that followed.

“You will never take another mage as you took him!” Safaera was stunned by the sudden change as she watched Anders unleash a torrent of flames upon their assailants, but now wasn’t the time to stall.

It was a blind rush. She kept fighting, constantly putting herself between the templars and her sister, Varric and a very glowy Anders.

Finally, the battle was over, and Anders seemed to calm down as the Lieutenant fell. Aveline gave her a cross look and started to move towards Anders. Safaera blocked her path with an unspoken command to stand down as Anders rushed over to Karl. The difference in his tone caught her attention.

“It’s like…you brought a piece of the Fade into this world. I had already forgotten what that feels like.”

“But you’re Tranquil! I thought you were cut off from the Fade forever?”

“When you’re Tranquil you never think on your life before. But it's like the Fade itself is inside Anders. It’s burning like a sun.” Karl had answered but turned his attention to Anders. “Please, my friend, kill me before I forget again! I don’t know how you brought it back but it’s fading!”

Safaera felt Bethany at her side. Safaera glanced at Bethany and saw the fear and sorrow she felt for Karl.

“Karl, no!” Anders’ heart was breaking, it was an impossible request. One that she would also stall at if Bethany fell to this fate. Without letting Bethany’s hand go she stepped next to Anders.

“My sister calls being Tranquil a fate worse than death.” Safaera gave Bethany’s hand a reassuring squeeze in return. “Give him peace.”

It was hard to watch Karl fade back to the emotionless shell that they had met. The look of grief and sorrow was heartbreaking to see as Anders’ dagger pierced into Karl’s heart. After laying his friend to the ground he stood up and faced them.

“We should leave before more templars come.” They left for Darktown in silence.

Once they were in the comfort of Anders’ clinic Safaera spoke up.

“That wasn’t normal magic you just did, was it?” She tried to not sound accusatory, and he looked away from her, but thankfully didn’t seem offended.

“This is hard to explain.” He then brought his gaze back to her. “When I was in Amaranthine, I met a spirit of Justice who was trapped outside the Fade. We became friends, and he recognized the injustice that mages in Thedas face every day.”

“How is that different from a demon?” She had honestly never heard of such a thing occurring. She knew that demons wanted to come to the mortal world, but spirits? She knew of what her father taught her and Bethany when they were younger. Safaera loved learning regardless if she could cast magic or not. She had never wanted Bethany to feel alone.

“Just as demons prey on the deadly sins of mankind, there are good spirits who embody our virtues. Spirits of compassion, fortitude…Justice. They are the Maker’s first children, and they have all but given up on us.”

“That sounds like a beneficial friendship, I guess.”

Anders simply nodded and continued his explanation of why he allowed Justice into his body and how Justice had changed, but with obvious hesitation

“This is obviously difficult for you, Anders. I would understand if you don’t want to continue.”

“You’re the first one I’ve ever told this.” He gave her a tired but sincere smile that made her heart flutter. “Thank you for not running away.”

“Is there any way for you to separate yourself from Justice,” She asked, her curiosity now pushing through.

“No, the only known way is to kill the host. Regardless, this was my choice. All I can do now is hope to control it.”

She was about to ask more questions when Aveline cleared her throat. Both she and Anders looked to the guardswoman then back at one another. As the silence stretched Anders turned to a crate and pulled out a few rolls of parchment.

“The maps are yours.” He handed them to her with a small note of hesitation.

Safaera gave him a grateful smile and began heading for the door when he called after her.

“As am I, Hawke, if you wish me to join your expedition.”

She turned back to face him. “Well then Anders, I guess I will see you around.” Safaera winked and returned to her group as if her heart wasn’t racing.

**Author's Note:**

> I want to thank FactoryKat and CaiusG for encouraging me to put this out there as my first piece.


End file.
